TfL Compliance Checks

Susan Hall: Can you provide data for the last 12 months (with a monthly/quarterly/period breakdown) on: a) the number of on-street vehicle and driver checks carried out by TfL’s taxi and private hire compliance officers b) the number and types of breaches identified and c) the number and types of sanction issued? For all data sets, please separate between those involving taxis and those involving private hire vehicles.

The Mayor: The attached document shows the data requested for the last twelve months, broken down by period.

PHV Licences (1)

Susan Hall: For each year, and for the last 3 years, can you provide a breakdown of how many private hire licences have been issued to drivers who: a) were required to provide and did provide a Certificate of Good Conduct b) were unable to provide a Certificate of Good Conduct and relied only on references and c) unable to provide either the ‘Certificate of Good Conduct’ or suitable references?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) will only licence an applicant if they satisfy all licensing requirements, including those that relate to character. If a taxi or private hire licence applicant has lived in a country other than the UK for one or more periods of three months or more in the last three years, they will also be required to produce a Certificate of Good Conduct which is an extract from the judicial record or equivalent document issued by a competent judicial or administrative authority for the relevant country. This certificate would be produced in addition to them undertaking an enhanced DBS check. A driver would not be granted a licence by TfL if they only provide a Certificate of Good Conduct.
To provide a detailed breakdown would require TfL to examine in excess of 106,000 private hire driver records.

Knowledge of London Active Applicants

Keith Prince: In the released slides for May’s Taxi Operational Performance meeting TFL state ‘We are undertaking a wider piece of work to identify and suspend those applications that are no longer active’. Will the Mayor give an accurate figure as to how many actual applicants are currently active on the Knowledge of London?

The Mayor: There are seven stages to becoming a licensed taxi driver:
Stage 1:  Self-assessment
Stage 2:  Written examination
Stages 3-5:  Appearances
Stage 6:  Suburban examination
Stage 7:  Licence application and pre-licensing talk
Full details of this process can be found in Transport for London’s (TfL’s) guide, ‘How to become a licensed taxi driver’: www.tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/licensing/learn-the-knowledge-of-london.
TfL has identified that as of Monday 2 September, there are 4,043 candidates studying the Knowledge of London. Of these, 1,770 candidates are at stages3‑6 and 2,273 are pre-stage 3.
TfL is reviewing the number of pre-stage 3 candidates to determine how many are inactive. At the start of the year (January 2019), the number of pre-stage 3 candidates was 3,088. There are 1,140 files left to review and this should be completed by October 2019.

Taxi and Private Hire Trade (2)

David Kurten: What amount of education does TfL provide and how many hours of training do Private Hire Drivers undergo before they become licensed?

The Mayor: Transport for London’s role as the regulator for taxi and private hire services in London is to ensure that all applicants are fit and proper before being issued a licence. As part of the licensing process, drivers undertake topographical and English language assessments.
The licensing requirements for taxi and private hire licensees are available on the TfL website.
Private hire driver licensing requirements: https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/licensing/private-hire-driver-licence
Taxi driver licensing requirements: https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/licensing/apply-for-a-taxi-driver-licence
TfL does not provide training for private hire drivers but it does encourage London’s private hire operators to provide relevant training to their drivers.

Energy system resilience (2)

Leonie Cooper: How can you ensure that London’s transport system is more resilient to energy outages?

The Mayor: In the event of major energy outages, the priority for London’s transport system is to ensure safety for all users. Transport for London (TfL) has robust plans in place to respond to outages and officers work closely with counterparts in Network Rail to ensure plans for resilience and recovery of services in the event of energy outages are aligned.
On 9 August, National Grid encountered a rare event that resulted in power outages across England and Wales, affecting nearly 1 million people. As a result of this fault, the Energy and Emergencies Executive Committee has been tasked to investigate whether procedures are fit for purpose.
During this event, no electrical supplies to London Underground were lost. However, the failure caused a brief drop of voltage and frequency which led to loss of service on the Victoria Line. TfL was able to restore the service within 35 minutes.
London Underground’s power supplies are designed and configured to be resilient to damage or failure. Had the power supply to London Underground been lost, appropriate systems and procedures would have been implemented to ensure the safety of customers. Firstly, the Local Emergency Power Supply (LEPS) provision at each station would have guaranteed power to support emergency evacuation. Should the outage have been longer, the Central Emergency Power Supply (CEPS) would have supplied power to ensure safe evacuation of the network.
TfL’s traffic lights can be affected by regional power outages, however repairs to these are prioritised by Distribution Network Operators to restore service as is practicable. For longer outages temporary lights can be deployed, and TfL’s Network Management Control Centre can deploy traffic management measures to minimise the risk of a road traffic collision at a junction where traffic signals have failed.

A10 Enfield speed cameras

Joanne McCartney: I have been asking for speed cameras to be installed on the A10 in Enfield for some time now. The MPS have been undertaking enforcement action over the past few months which has confirmed the need for such deterrent. My last update states that they would be reviewed this summer as new guidelines were being introduced. Has this been done and when will the cameras been installed?

The Mayor: TfL is engaging with LB Enfield and has offered to meet to discuss how they and the borough can work together to improve speed compliance on the A10.
Transport for London (TfL) is currently finalising the process for the introduction of safety cameras and speed enforcement measures, working closely with London boroughs and policing partners. The new process for prioritising locations considers the levels of speeding, collisions and casualties and also takes into account the number of walking, cycling and motorcycling trips, engineering schemes and other factors. The development of the new methodology is anticipated to be complete in the autumn, following which a decision will be made on future safety camera investment by the end of the 2019/20 financial year.
TfL has allocated £10m from its Business Plan towards safety camera installation and it’s important to ensure that these funds are used to deliver the greatest speed and casualty reduction. Using the new process will ensure enforcement is prioritised on roads where the need is greatest.

Star rating system for lorries and Vision Zero action plan (3)

Caroline Russell: How many HGVs operating in London do you currently estimate to be achieving each of the ratings, from zero stars to five stars, of your Direct Vision Standard (DVS)?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) estimates that 0 star vehicles represent 29 per cent of the London population of Heavy Goods Vehicles over 12 tonnes gross vehicle weight (Category N3), vehicles with a 1-2 star rating represent 43 per cent, and vehicles rated 3-5 stars represent 28 per cent of London N3 vehicles, based on work undertaken in April 2018 by AECOM on behalf of TfL.
TfL is in the process of compiling a database of vehicles that fall into each star rating boundary, based on rating information provided by the vehicle manufacturers. The launch of this database is planned for later this year, and will enable a breakdown of vehicle numbers against each star rating.

Taxi and Private Hire Trade (4)

David Kurten: Do you agree that TfL should interview all applicants for taxi and/or private hire licences and test their ability to drive before allowing them to proceed to drive the public?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) does not interview driver applicants and does not intend to do so in the future. Taxi and private hire driver applicants must meet a range of strict criteria to ensure they are 'fit and proper' prior to becoming licensed. All applicants must undergo an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records check before they are granted a licence and every three years. TfL also undertakes checks with the DVLA. Applicants must provide evidence of their right to live and work in the UK. New applicants who have lived in a country other than the UK for one or more continuous periods of 12 months in the three years prior to their application are also required to provide a Certificate of Good Conduct from the relevant country of residence, issued by a competent judicial or administrative authority.
Prospective taxi drivers must successfully complete the Knowledge of London. Private hire driver applicants have their topographical skills assessed and must provide evidence of their English language proficiency.
TfL has consulted on an advanced driving test, along with other proposals, and are considering this in line with Government’s response to the recent Task and Finish Working Group report. The report looked at several areas of legislative reform, including national minimum standards, which TfL and I have long called on Government to introduce.

Croydon Tram Investigation

Keith Prince: Further to your response to MQT 2019/14344 https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2019/14344 what proof can you provide that the Transport Commissioner or TfL’s Audit and Assurance Committee investigated why TfL failed to provide Fatigue Audit IA 17780 to the RAIB, ORR, SNC Lavalin and British Transport Police?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) produced a report for its Board in July 2018 explaining why the internal audit report was not issued to the external organisations investigating Sandilands immediately on its completion. This report is available on the TfL website and it can be found through a quick internet search or via the following link:http://content.tfl.gov.uk/24-july-2018-board-briefing-note-on-fatigue.pdf.
The TfL Board report provides a full and adequate explanation and demonstrates that TfL has fully investigated the issue.

Taxi and Private Hire Trade (6)

David Kurten: Given that TfL do not regulate App companies, are they putting the safety of the public at risk by not insisting that all companies operating in the industry hold an Operator’s licence?

The Mayor: New primary legislation would be required to change the extent to which licences are required in the taxi and private hire industry. This is beyond my and TfL’s powers to introduce.

Contactless payment chips

Susan Hall: Technology is changing, there are companies working on contactless contact payment chips that can be implanted under the skin, would this be permittable on the TFL network if a ticket inspector asked for proof of payment/ticket?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) already accepts contactless payments in many forms, including mobile phones and wristbands, as well as conventional bank cards. TfL will assess the viability of any future technology as and when it arises and will continue to accept contact payment chips in a wide variety of forms.

TFL CCTV

Susan Hall: Please provide the number of TFL owned CCTV cameras in 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 by borough.

The Mayor: There is an extensive network of more than 77,000 CCTV cameras operating across London’s transport network including 12,000 cameras across the Tube network.
However, it is not possible to give the exact number broken down by year and borough as Transport for London (TfL) does not operate a single system that records the overall numbers. This is because it is a complex picture with cameras located at many sites across the transport network such as bus garages, on the road network and in stations and car parks. Others are not tied to a particular location, for example those on buses or tube trains, or are operated by individual bus companies or concession holders on behalf of TfL.
Because of the complex nature of your request, TfL’s Assembly Relations team would be happy to meet with you to discuss this further. Please do get in touch with them if this would be helpful.

Taxi and Private Hire Trade (9)

David Kurten: What measures has the Mayor taken to address increases in sexual assaults and road traffic accidents in the private hire trade that were not put in place by the previous Mayor?

The Mayor: Since the beginning of my term as Mayor, the following measures have been put in place:
Other multi-skilled on-street operational staff within the Compliance, Policing and On-Street enforcement (CPOS) directorate support taxi and private hire work. TfL works closely with the MPS’s Taxi and Private Hire Policing Team on a number of joint operations, including deployments with TPHCOs, road-side stop operations and identifying taxi touts and licensed drivers carrying out illegal activities outside their licence conditions.

e-Taxi Bays

Susan Hall: Can you clarify whether any enforcement measures are in place for 'e-Taxi Only’ bays and, if so, what?

The Mayor: Please see my response to Mayor's Question2019/17403.

Taxi and Private Hire Trade (3)

David Kurten: On 24 June 2018, Andrew Gilligan wrote in The Sunday Times that Uber had investigated 1,100 drivers for serious offences: how many of those drivers had been assessed by TfL as being fit and proper to hold a private hire driver’s licence? What measures have TfL introduced in the year since Uber investigated its own drivers for serious offences?1
1https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/uber-investigates-1-100-drivers-for-serious-offences-zpqwlthgg

The Mayor: All applicants must satisfy Transport for London (TfL) that they are a fit and proper person to be licensed as a London private hire vehicle (PHV) driver at the time of licensing. If TfL subsequently receives information of an adverse nature regarding a London PHV driver (either from an operator or by other means) then that information is carefully considered to confirm that driver is still a fit and proper person.
Applicants undergo an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check prior to licensing and the check is then assessed by TfL before a licensing decision is made.
Guidance for London PHV operators on when and how to inform TfL and the police of alleged or suspected criminal conduct is provided here: http://content.tfl.gov.uk/guidance-on-reporting-crime.pdf.

Homelessness and crime

Keith Prince: Centrepoint’s recent report “Escaping the Trap” documents the considerable overlap between involvement in criminal activity and housing instability. Will the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime ensure the Metropolitan Police take a greater role in responding to homelessness, initially by introducing a “commitment to refer” people experiencing, or at risk, of homelessness to their local authority for support?

The Mayor: The duty to refer as stated in the Homeless Reduction Act 2017 does not require the police to make a commitment. The duty to refer is a government policy and MOPAC do not have a role in ensuring the police have a statutory duty. The role of the police is to investigate and respond to criminality associated with homelessness and support partner agencies including local authorities and social care who are better suited to provide the support that these vulnerable people need.

Discrepancies about the conclusions of Croydon Tram Fatigue Audit IA 17 780 found in publications of the Safety, Sustainability and Human Resources Panel and the Audit and Assurance Committee

Keith Prince: While a “Post Meeting Note” published in the minutes of the 26 June 2017 Safety, Sustainability and Human Resources Panel clearly states that Fatigue Audit IA 17 780 had concluded that First Group Tram Operation Limited’s Fatigue Management System “Requires Improvement” (http://content.tfl.gov.uk/sshrp-20170928-item03-minutes.pdf), the Audit and Assurance Committee Internal Audit Quarter 2 Report 2017/18 (dated 14 December 2018) (http://content.tfl.gov.uk/aac-20171214-part-1-item05-internal-audit-q2-r...) only defines “Management of Fatigue in Tram Operations Limited (TOL) as “15/09/17 Consultancy” and does not include the matter in its “Requires Improvement” calculation. Can you explain why there is a such a fundamental discrepancy between these two independent TfL panels about the conclusions of Croydon Tram Fatigue Audit IA 17 780?

The Mayor: The post meeting note in the minutes of the 26 June 2017 Safety, Sustainability and Human Resources Panel was drafted prior to the audit report (IA 17 780) being issued.
No evidence or recommendations were deleted from the Internal Audit Report into the Management of Fatigue in Tram Operations Limited (TOL) (IA17 780). It is standard practice when carrying out audits to share and discuss findings with those being audited before finalising the report to ensure any factual inaccuracies are corrected. This process resulted in some revisions and reordering of the draft for accuracy, but the evidence and recommendations were not changed. They were clearly set out in the final audit report.

Buses and disabled access

Navin Shah: I’m raising this issue on behalf of disabled service users of Harrow Mencap: What work is being done with bus companies to ensure bus drivers are more sensitive to the needs of disabled passenger, for example driving up close to the kerb, being more patient and driving slower.

The Mayor: All disabled and older people should be able to travel in London with freedom and independence. Bus drivers play a vital role in this and Transport for London (TfL) is committed to ensuring they are trained to offer the support people need.
All new bus drivers receive accessibility training by their operators to make them aware of the range of disabled passengers that they might need to look out for and the need to be patient and attentive with them. Training is reinforced by the drivers’ ‘The Big Red Book’ manual, which provides guidance on how drivers can assist passengers in a wide range of scenarios. TfL worked with disabled people’s organisations like Guide Dogs and Transport for All to ensure their feedback was included in the new edition, which now includes more detailed guidance and is a key tool in the continued drive to raise standards and improve the journey experience for passengers.
Between 2016 and 2018, TfL and London’s bus operators invested in training for all 25,000 London bus drivers to improve and enhance the customer experience. Called ‘Hello London’, the two-day training gave drivers support and advice on how to provide a good experience when interacting with all customers and features information about how drivers can support disabled customers. TfL is also planning a new Disability Equality Training programme for all bus drivers next year that will expand on the Hello London training and particularly focus on service for disabled and older customers.

Cab Enforcement Unit (2)

David Kurten: Does the Met Police’s cab enforcement unit make independent decisions that are not influenced by TfL?

The Mayor: TfL are the licencing authority and regulator for the Taxi and Private Hire (TPH) tradesin London and share common objectives with Taxi and Private Hire Policing Team (TPHPT):
The key activities that TPHPT carry out are plain clothes touting/plying operations in hotspot areas to detect illegal activity; high visibility and plain clothes enforcement to detect, deter and disrupt illegal activity as well as to improve road safety; cab-related crime investigations; cab operator inspections; and proactively following up intelligence leads.
TPHPT also carry out joint operations with TPH compliance officers such as roadside stop sites; compliance patrols; multi-agency cab operator visits; and joint investigations. During joint operations TPH compliance officers will take the lead on compliance and licensing issues and TPHPT will take the lead on criminal and road traffic offence matters.
Information is shared between TfL and TPHPT in order to identify areas of risk to allow responses to be put in place to tackle identified threats.
There is joint working and information sharing between TPHPT and TfL in order to achieve our shared objectives however TPHPT acts totally independently when making decisions around investigations and traffic offence matters and are not influenced by TfL.

Use of taxi charging points by other vehicles

Caroline Russell: A constituent has raised concerns that electric vehicle (EV) charging points reserved for taxis are being used by other vehicles. What enforcement measures are Transport for London (TfL) taking to support the well-publicised provision of dedicated electric charging bays for the growing electric taxi fleet?

The Mayor: Metropolitan Police Service Police Community Support Officers and Transport for London Roads and Transport Enforcement Officers (RTEOs) patrol red routes to help improve compliance and enforce against parking contraventions.
If a vehicle other than a taxi is stopped within an E-taxi bay then it can be issued with a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). Taxis stopped in an E-taxi bay should abide by the controls displayed on the signage.

Fulfilling accepted bookings

Keith Prince: In response to question 2019/14346, the Mayor stated ‘indeed I would expect private hire companies to make every effort to fulfil bookings they have accepted’. Why is this not a condition of licence?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) keeps under review which conditions are appropriate and necessary to attach to private hire licences. There may be legitimate reasons why a private hire operator may not be able to fulfil a booking they have accepted, for example due to road closures, a vehicle breakdown or a driver becoming unwell, which would make a mandatory requirement in all cases inappropriate.However, I expect London private hire vehicle operators to act responsibly and do everything they can to carry out bookings they have previously accepted.